Buyers and sellers are paying attention to the media reports on housing differently
There are a few less buyers today shopping for homes in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market and there is far more inventory being offered for sale by sellers in the Charleston area than in previous years.
I know that buyers in general feel fearful of purchasing in today's real estate marketplace.
They are hearing the bad news from the media including headlines screaming that prices are declining or that mortgages are more expensive and less available. They are worried about buying and finding out that prices will go down a little more before going back up again. In the Charleston area, like many other coastal locations, buyers are concerned about the increasing costs of homeowners insurance, whether it is hazard, flood or wind. Some buyers want to wait for the absolute bottom before making a purchase.
While the news has not been great for housing recently, it isn't quite as bad as the media has made it out to be. A thousand homes are bought and sold in Charleston every month and that level of activity is equal to the activity in 2003 or 2004 but just not as strong as the peak year for sales in 2005. Job growth is strong and many people are moving to the Charleston area every year seeking work or to retire here.
Despite everything you hear about problems in the mortgage industry, mortgage loans are still available and actually rates are very favorable with 30 year fixed rate loans hovering very close to 6% once again.
So if the buyers have heard all this bad news, why haven't the sellers. The reason I say this is that many sellers are stubbornly convinced that their home is worth far more than the market values it. While some sellers obviously have heard the news and priced their home reasonably and had it sell in a reasonable period of time, I have also seen many homes with prices well above market rates simply languish on the market for almost a year in many cases.
Some sellers are thinking along these lines:
· This is how much I need
· This is my retirement money
· I added this to my house and I want my money back
It doesn’t matter how much you need or for what reason and you may not get back all of your investment in either upgrades or maintenance. As an example, if you painted, replaced your roof or updated your kitchen, your home is now more marketable than other homes that haven’t been upgraded or well maintained. You do not get your investment back dollar for dollar and certainly, in the case of regular maintenance, this is expected by the buyer looking at your home.
Haven't those sellers seen or heard the same news as the buyers have?